Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says that he is no long looking to join NATO, with Ukraine joining NATO being one of the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky said that he has since “cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine” during an interview with ABC News.
He also said that he is open to a compromise with RUssian president Putin on the two pro-Russian territories, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Elaborating further on NATO’s presumed rejection of Ukraine, Zelensky said that they are “afraid of controversial things and confrontation with Russia”.
He further added that he doesn’t want to be “president of a country which is begging for something on its knees”.
Russia has seen the growth of NATO as a threat to them, with the alliance being created at the start of the Cold War to protect Europe from the Soviet Union.
Russia is also angry that NATO has been expanding closer to them, taking in former Soviet territories over the years after the end of the Cold War.
President Zelensky was asked about Putin’s recognization of the pro-Russian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, and he said that he is open to dialogue, adding that he was “talking about security guarantees”.
He said that the two regions are recognised as pseudo republics only by Russia, but that they can discuss and reach a compromise on how the two territories will love on.
He added that what is important to him is “how the people in the two territories are going to live, who want to be part of Ukraine”.
He then once again appealed to President Putin to “start a dialogue instead of living in the informational bubble without oxygen”.